


Attachments

by lawgoddess



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-25
Updated: 2014-11-25
Packaged: 2018-02-26 22:57:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2669504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lawgoddess/pseuds/lawgoddess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As part of his job as the Internet Security Officer for Pendragon Private Banking, Merlin Emrys is required to read all company emails.</p><p>Misunderstandings about romantic relationships ensue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Attachments

**Author's Note:**

  * For [crazyforthisloki](https://archiveofourown.org/users/crazyforthisloki/gifts).



> Happy Merlin Holidays, crazyforthisloki! I hope you have a wonderful holiday season, and that you enjoy this story.
> 
> The original plot point of Merlin monitoring emails came from the novel “Attachments” by Rainbow Rowell, but the story does not follow the same plot.
> 
> In the spirit of "fa la la la la" and "don we now our gay apparel", this story is a bit cracky.

Jesus, he hated this part of his job. 

Merlin Emrys was usually sunny-tempered to a fault. His mother swore that he’d smiled at her the first time she held him, and his best friend Will was constantly telling him that he was so easy-going that people took advantage of him. 

So he tried to make the best of things, reminding himself that he was lucky to have landed the job of Internet Security Officer for Pendragon Private Banking. He was young for such an important position, and the money was good. He liked most of the people he worked with, and he even had his own office. 

But he really _really_ hated reading through all the emails sent by each and every employee in corporate headquarters. 

His job description stated “ISO is to monitor all ingoing and outgoing company email, reading and flagging inappropriate and/or unprofessional messages.” But he felt like it was just spying on people for Uther Pendragon, the company’s CEO and founder, who Merlin secretly thought of as a Very Scary Person. 

He was constantly in a dilemma, torn between doing what he was expected to do and ratting out some poor sod for sending an email to his divorce lawyer during his lunch break. 

It wasn’t like there weren’t plenty of other IT issues to be addressed. It was the fall of 1999, and everyone was getting hysterical about the Y2K problem. There was a lot of fear that all the computers would crash at midnight on New Year’s Eve. 

Personally, Merlin thought the whole thing was overblown, but he was a minor cog in a big IT department, and no one paid much attention to what he thought. Which was a mistake on their part, Merlin knew. 

Merlin didn’t have an inflated ego. He knew that he was too skinny and his ears were too big and that he was socially awkward, tripping over his own two feet several times a day. But when it came to computers, there wasn’t much he couldn’t figure out. His gifts for programming were so outstanding that his whole college computer science department called him “The Wizard.” 

Yet here he sat, spending most of his day reading through extremely boring emails and trying to figure out ways to avoid turning people in for an occasional lapse. 

It was tedious, and soul-sucking, and he hated it. 

*****

Uther Pendragon expected a report on his desk first thing every morning, and in addition to reporting software improvements, firewall status, and viruses sent off to infect some less well-protected system, Merlin had to include a list of violators of the “no private use of email” policy. 

There were about fifty people working in the main office, and Merlin knew and liked most of them. There were a few people who were jerks, like Val in Security and that little weasel Cedric in Public Relations. But for the most part they were a good bunch, and if Merlin was friendly with someone he would often take them aside and say something like, “Look, you have to stop sending pictures of your grandchild around on company email, or I’ll have to report it to Uther.” 

Alice in Accounting had taken that very hard, and Merlin had ended up giving up his lunch hour to show her how to make an email group with her home email so she could send around pictures of little Andromeda to her heart’s content. On her own time. 

By the time Merlin had been on the job for six months, his behind the scenes education program and Uther’s stern emails to those who committed infractions of the email policy had borne fruit. He seldom saw anything in an email that he had to report. 

Until one November day, when he discovered two employees using the email system to gossip about how hot one of their co-workers was. Well, maybe the guy wasn’t a co-worker, but he definitely worked at Pendragon Private Banking. Or PPB, as they all called it. 

One of the other things Merlin disliked about his job was all the corporate acronyms. He’d spent his first couple of weeks trying to translate and remember them all. 

CRM was Customer Relationship Management. RFP was Request for Proposal. MBWA was Management by Walking Around. OQJ was Our Quality Journey. 

It was enough to make you puke. 

But some of employees, led by Morgana Gorlois, Uther Pendragon’s niece and the head of Public Relations (sorry, PR) had taken it further, as a sort of inside joke. 

Morgana and the young women who hung around her and acted like her courtiers had adopted silly acronyms for anything in the office they could think of, including some of the employees. Merlin heard the names bandied around the office, although he rarely saw them in emails. 

Sweet, clumsy Elena, Morgana’s assistant, was TGG, for The Goofy Girl. Gwaine in Human Resources was SSH, for Shiny Swishy Hair. 

Uther was HRM, for His Royal Majesty. 

And Merlin himself was MTM, for Merlin the Magician. 

*****

Merlin knew he was going to be in a jam as soon as he saw the email exchange between Morgana and Guinevere Leodegrance. Gwen was the bank’s best Investment Analyst, and also Morgana’s best friend. She was Merlin’s friend, too, although she had such a sweet personality that she was pretty much friends with everyone. 

The email exchange between Gwen and Morgana clearly was not about work, as evidenced by the subject line, which made Merlin wince. Couldn’t they even try not to wave a red flag in front of him and anyone else in IT who happened to be going through the email system? 

*****

TO: morpendragon@pendragonprivatebanking.com 

FROM: gwenleo@pendragonprivatebanking.com 

SUBJECT: OMG!OMG!OMG! 

LB smiled at me! We were in the break room and he smiled at me! 

TO: gwenleo@pendragonprivatebanking.com 

FROM: morpendragon@pendragonprivatebanking.com 

SUBJECT: OMG!OMG!OMG! 

Calm down, girl! 

I need details! You can fill me in at lunch. 

*****

This exchange created a problem for Merlin. 

He was very fond of Gwen, and he didn’t want run tattling to Uther about her. And he was pretty sure that the rule about no private use of company email didn’t apply to Morgana, who everyone knew could do no wrong in Uther’s eyes. 

Still, shouldn’t rules be applied uniformly? 

It took him a minute to figure out who LB was, and when he did, his heart plummeted. 

It wasn’t a nickname that he had heard used before, but when he searched his memory he remembered that he had heard Elena and some of the other women giggling about Arthur Pendragon, Uther’s son, who was the head of Investments and was clearly being groomed to take over the company. 

Arthur was extremely good-looking, and the ladies talked about him a lot. 

To be fair, there was a lot to talk about. 

He had ridiculously pretty blond hair that was so shiny that in certain lights it gleamed like a halo. Or a crown. 

His face was handsome, with piercing blue eyes and a pouty mouth. His shoulders were broad, and his stomach was flat, and it was clear that he was a natural athlete. 

He strode through the offices like it was his kingdom and everyone should bow their heads as he walked by. 

But the feature that was most relevant to the ladies in choosing Arthur's nickname was his butt. He had a luscious, lovely butt, high and round. In fact, that was what Elena and her friends had been giggling about, calling Arthur “Luscious Butt.” 

As an out and proud gay man, Merlin wouldn’t mind sinking his teeth into that butt himself. 

When he figured out that Gwen’s LB was the same Arthur Pendragon that Merlin secretly crushed on, he felt a surge of jealousy. 

Of course, that made no sense, but when did strong emotions ever make sense? 

As far as he knew, Arthur was straight. And even if he wasn’t, he was way out of Merlin’s league. 

Besides, based on his limited interactions with Arthur, the guy was a real jerk. 

*****

You know how in stories and movies a couple is said to “meet cute”? Well, Merlin and Arthur met the opposite of cute. In fact, it would be fair to describe their first encounter as “meeting ugly.” 

Merlin had only been on the job for a couple of days when he’d had his first run-in with Pendragon. He didn’t know most of his co-workers yet, and was trying to keep his head down and his mouth shut, to get to know how things worked in the office so he wouldn’t do something stupid. 

But fate wasn’t on his side. 

One of Merlin’s responsibilities was to keep a small stock keyboards and other components, as well as laptop computers, for new employees or for emergencies when there wasn’t time to go through the regular supply chain. It was after five pm, and he’d gone into the cage area where he kept new equipment to check his inventory. To his astonishment, the cage was unlocked, and a good-looking blond guy was there helping himself to a new top-of-the-line Apple Power Book. 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing? And how did you get in here?” Merlin said sharply. 

Merlin had read the expression “he looked down his nose at me” but had never seen it in real life before. But this (admittedly gorgeous) man definitely could pull off haughty. He looked Merlin up and down with his eyes narrowed, clearly finding him wanting, and said, “The more important question is, who the hell are you? And what are _you_ doing here?” 

“I’m the Internet Security Officer, and I’m in charge of this area. And it looks to me like you are trying to walk off with a three thousand dollar Power Book. Now put that back and get out of here. Otherwise I’ll be telling Uther Pendragon about this first thing in the morning.” 

The other man threw back his head and laughed, exposing the lovely clean lines of his throat. But it wasn’t a nice laugh, and Merlin had already made up his mind that this asshole was not a nice person. 

Not nice, and a bit aggressive, as Merlin discovered when he somehow found himself pushed against the metal grating of the equipment locker, caged in by the other man’s arms and staring into deep blue eyes which were only a few inches from his own. 

_This guy doesn’t seem to care about personal space,_ Merlin thought, as his traitorous dick gave a small, interested twitch. Merlin liked being held down, he liked being pushed against walls, and he liked feeling a bit overpowered. Whoever the hell this man was, he was effortlessly checking off some of Merlin’s favorite boxes. 

But there was a difference between liking to be manhandled a bit in bed, and being a pushover in real life, and Merlin was not about to set a precedent of letting other employees walk all over him. 

He put his palm in the center of the other man’s chest and pushed, and the guy moved back six inches and lowered one of his arms, picking up Merlin’s employee ID badge which was hanging around his neck on a lanyard. 

“Merlin Emrys, Internet Security Officer,” he read, and then in a condescending tone said, “I don’t know you. You must be new.” 

“Get off me,” Merlin said angrily, and with a smirk the other man let go of Merlin’s badge and stepped away. “I don’t know who you are and I don’t care, but no one takes equipment out of my area without a requisition form. Filled out in triplicate. And signed by your supervisor.” 

The other man laughed again. “I don’t have a supervisor. My name is Arthur Pendragon, and I’m the head of the Investment Division. And I have coffee with Uther Pendragon, who happens to be my father, every morning at eight a.m. sharp. I’ll be sure to tell him about this incident.” 

This attitude of smug entitlement made Merlin very angry indeed, and he struggled to keep his voice from shaking as he said, “I don’t care who you are, nobody just helps themselves to equipment that I’m responsible for. If you have a good reason for needing a new laptop, you can request one through the proper channels. And if you and your father want to run your company like a little fiefdom instead of like a professional business, that’s your call, but I will need to hear it from the very top.” 

To Merlin’s surprise, Arthur backed off and moved to the door, and said, “Oh, you’ll be hearing more from me. You can count on it, _Mer_ -lin.” He gave Merlin a mocking half-salute and walked away, and Merlin leaned against the wall, trembling from the aftermath of the adrenaline rush caused by his sudden rage. 

And maybe there were some other emotions in the mix as well.

 _Great,_ he thought. _It took me six fucking months to find this job, and now I’ve lost it._

*****

Merlin tossed and turned all night, constantly crunching numbers in his head to figure out how long he could survive on his savings while he looked for a new job. He kept replaying the scene with Pendragon in his mind, wondering if he should have been less confrontational and more willing to go along and get along. 

But as he finally drifted into sleep, he told himself that he had done nothing wrong. If an arrogant jerk with a sense of entitlement thought he could make Merlin discard his ideas about fairness and honest management of his area, he had another think coming. 

And if he thought just a little bit about how hot it had been when Pendragon had physically boxed him in, and how great his ass looked as he walked away, well, that was nobody’s business but his. 

*****

Much to Merlin’s surprise, he didn’t get fired the next morning, or even reprimanded for the incident with Pendragon, at least not in so many words. 

When he got to the office the next morning, half an hour before most of the other employees, he found a requisition form for a new Power Book for Arthur Pendragon neatly placed in the center of his desk, signed by Arthur Pendragon, of course. The form explained that his previous laptop had ended up at the bottom of Casco Bay in Maine while he had been sailing with clients. 

At the end of the form, written in bold black fountain pen ink, were the words “Please deliver the new laptop to my office at your earliest convenience.” 

Merlin fumed. He wasn’t an errand boy. People came to him when they needed new equipment, not the other way around. 

He wasn’t Arthur Pendragon’s personal servant, after all. 

His mood wasn’t improved when he booted up his computer and opened his email. 

*****

TO: m.emrys@pendragonprivatebanking.com 

FROM: Pendragon@pendragonprivatebanking.com 

SUBJECT: Intra-Office Security 

It has come to my attention that there has been some laxity in maintenance of the locked equipment area in the IT department. I am concerned about how many keys to the secure area may be floating around company headquarters. 

I realize that you are new to this position and may not be totally up to speed. However, I should not have to point out to you that there are tens of thousands of dollars of equipment that are within your area of responsibility. I am told that a single laptop may have a cost of three thousand dollars or more. 

Going forward, I suggest that you have the locks in your department changed, and maintain tighter control of distribution of keys. 

*****

Merlin’s phone buzzed while he was trying to get his blood pressure under control. “Emrys,” he said in a clipped tone. 

“Good morning, Merlin,” said Ms. Kilgarrah, Uther Pendragon’s assistant. She was a tall woman of indeterminate age, who had a reputation for being ruthlessly efficient and fiercely protective of the Pendragons. The whispers around the break room said she ate baby lambs whole for breakfast, and her company nickname was TD, for “The Dragon.” 

There were also rumors that Uther Pendragon must have something on her, because she never seemed to leave her desk. It was like she was chained to it or something. 

To be honest, Merlin was afraid of her. And as his brain seemed to freeze in panic, he only had one thought. _Arthur Pendragon went running to his daddy about me._

Somehow, he had hoped that the man who had infuriated him so wouldn’t be enough of an asshole to actually turn him in for an honest mistake. 

But as he focused on Ms. Kilgarrah’s words again, he realized that he had jumped to the wrong conclusion. This wasn’t about Arthur and the Power Book. It was simply a request that he attend a meeting of department heads scheduled for the following day. 

Well, it wasn’t really a request. More of a command. But it was at least phrased politely. 

He wondered why Uther and Kilgarrah didn’t just use emails to schedule meetings like the rest of the civilized world, but as far as technology went, the two of them were in the Dark Ages. It was company lore that anyone who tried to show them how to set up an electronic scheduling system generally fled the executive suite in tears. 

He had just put the phone down and reached for his coffee when the phone buzzed again. _Jesus Christ, what was wrong with these people? It was only 8:10 a.m., and the office didn’t even open until 8:30._

It was Mithian, Arthur Pendragon’s assistant. Her tone was apologetic as she said, “Mr. Pendragon was wondering when you would be bringing up the Power Book he requested.” 

“Tell him I’m on my way,” Merlin said through gritted teeth. This time he did grab his coffee, and belted down a good slug before he got up to go get the computer, still in its packaging. He wouldn’t have time to do the setup in advance, but His Royal Highness would just have to watch and wait while he did it. 

*****

When Merlin got to Pendragon’s suite, Mithian waved him toward the closed office door. He might have been imagining it, but he thought he saw a sympathetic look on her face. 

He took a deep breath and knocked, and a gruff voice said, “Come in.” 

Unlike the night before, when he had been in jeans and looked like he could have walked in off the street, Arthur was impeccably turned out in a suit that would have cost Merlin a month’s salary, and a silk tie that somehow exactly matched the red of the company logo. 

Arthur’s face was composed, but somehow there seemed to be a gleam of mischief in his eyes. He said smoothly, “Ah, there you are, I’ve been waiting for you. Do you have my laptop?” 

He waved lazily at a chair on front of his desk, and Merlin sat, using his utility knife to cut open the layers of plastic and cardboard packaging and taking out the tablet. “It will take me a little while to format it. Do you have a preference for a password?” 

“I think The Boss will do.” 

“No, it won’t,” Merlin replied. “A password should have at least eight characters, including some upper and lower case letters and some numbers or symbols. And it shouldn’t be easy to guess, like your brilliant suggestion.” 

“Is that so?” Arthur said, arching an eyebrow. 

“Yes, that’s so. You went to business school, I assume you picked up some basics of computer security.” 

Merlin’s fingers moved lightning fast across the keyboard as he entered a password, then picked up a piece of paper from the desk to write it down. He handed the paper across to Arthur, saying, “Memorize it, don’t just slip the paper under your mousepad. I tried to make it something that will be easy for you to remember.” 

The corner of Arthur’s mouth quirked up as he read what was written on the paper. 37OBNoxiousATTitude9. 

“That’s more than eight characters,” he observed. 

“That’s because you’re special,” Merlin said coolly. 

Arthur threw back his head and laughed at that, and unlike the day before, when the laugh had felt mocking and angry, this time it seemed genuine. 

Merlin knew he was a goner. 

“Well, thanks for coming by, Merlin,” Arthur said, clearly dismissing him. “I’m sure I’ll see you around.” 

Merlin left, narrowly avoiding tripping over his own feet. He could feel Pendragon’s eyes on him the whole way out the door. 

*****

It turned out that Pendragon really did seem to think that Merlin was his own personal IT lackey. He called Merlin into his office a couple of times a week, usually to ask a question that was so basic and even stupid that Merlin started to wonder if the guy was just toying with him. 

Arthur’s motto at work seemed to be “Hardware: the parts of a computer that can be kicked.” He seemed to have no affinity for computers at all, which struck Merlin as very odd considering that the man had an MBA from Columbia. 

He finally confirmed his suspicion that Arthur was just having fun with him the day he discovered that the reason Arthur’s desktop computer wasn’t working was that it had been unplugged. 

Sighing heavily, he got down on his hands and knees to plug it back in. The power outlet was in an awkward position between the corner of Arthur’s desk and the wall, and once he crouched down he decided it was easier to shuffle into position on his knees than to try to crawl into the corner. He looked over his shoulder once he was done, ready to say something sarcastic, only to see that Arthur’s eyes were firmly fixed on his ass. 

Blushing, he stayed on the floor, glaring at Arthur and saying tightly, “Gee, I wonder how that happened.” 

“Must have been the cleaning lady,” Arthur said smoothly, seemingly unruffled by being caught checking out Merlin’s rear end. “They aren’t always super careful when they vacuum.” 

“Yeah, right,” Merlin grumbled. 

“Although, I have to admit it was kind of fun watching you walk around on your knees to get to the outlet.” 

Merlin felt himself blushing an even deeper red, and Pendragon offered a hand to help him up. Arthur seemed to be reviewing his words in his head, perhaps wondering if he had stepped over the line between teasing and illegal sexual harassment of a subordinate. 

And that was the moment when they both realized that Arthur hadn’t let go of Merlin’s hand. 

They hastily let go, although it seemed like Arthur let Merlin's hand slide through his palm with more pressure than necessary. To cover the awkwardness of the moment, Merlin lectured, “The first rule of computer troubleshooting is ‘Make sure it’s plugged in.’ Maybe you could try to remember that in the future. 

Arthur’s face was perfectly serious as he answered, “Oh, but I’m far too important to worry about such things. That’s why I have you.” 

Merlin spent the rest of the day wondering exactly what Arthur was playing at. 

*****

Any hopes he might have had that Arthur was interested in him were dashed when he saw the next email exchange between Gwen and Morgana. He discovered that while Arthur been flirting with him, he’d also been flirting with Gwen. 

He was confused, but decided that he must have been wrong about the signals Arthur was sending him. 

*****

TO: gwenleo@pendragonprivatebanking.com 

FROM: morpendragon@pendragonprivatebanking.com 

SUBJECT: So? What happened??? 

At your lunch with LB? Enquiring minds want to know! 

TO: morpendragon@pendragonprivatebanking.com 

FROM: gwenleo@pendragonprivatebanking.com 

SUBJECT: So? What happened??? 

It was a very nice lunch. LB is so charming and sincere. Such a kind heart and beautiful old-fashioned manners. 

And he asked me out to dinner! I think he likes me! 

*****

Merlin kept staring at the email, trying to make some sense out of it. 

Okay, he could see that Arthur was charming, when he wanted to be, but ‘sincere’ was not exactly the first adjective to come to mind when you thought of him. 

And he did have good manners, they had probably installed them at the same factory where they put the stick up his ass, but he had never thought of Arthur’s manners as an outstanding characteristic. And old-fashioned? 

It didn’t make much sense to him. 

But Gwen was clearly smitten, and Merlin liked her and wished her well. So he did his best to stop thinking about Arthur, and decided to go on a date. 

*****

Bad Date Interlude 

His friends Tristan and Isolde were what Bridget Jones called “smug marrieds, ” determined that everyone they knew should join them in wedded bliss. Privately, Merlin had always believed that marriage was a fine institution, but not everyone wanted to spend their lives in an institution. 

But they were persistent, and he decided to soothe his ruffled feelings over Arthur by giving in to them. 

They had been trying to set him up with one particular guy for ages, and when Merlin finally called and said he would do it, they were delighted. They passed Merlin’s phone number on to the other man, and assured Merlin that he was a great guy. 

“Have fun,” they chorused at him before they hung up. 

*****

Unfortunately, Merlin was not having fun. 

He was not having any fun at all. 

His date, George, was the stiffest, most boring man Merlin had ever encountered. He supposed the man wasn’t bad looking, but he had a supercilious manner that immediately brought up Merlin’s hackles. They didn’t have a conversation; George was giving him a lecture. 

Merlin zoned out after the first few minutes, when George was talking about the importance of “a place for everything and everything in its place.” 

He woke up a bit when George expounded on his love of antique silver and the best way of polishing it to preserve the patina. But there was a bit of the gleam of a madman in George’s eyes as he explained his techniques, and a voice in the back of Merlin’s head was saying, “Run. Run while you can.” 

Just then dessert arrived, and Merlin decided to concentrate on his chocolate mousse. The date was almost over anyway. 

But suddenly he realized what George was saying. 

“Now, you, Merlin, from everything I’ve heard you are completely lacking in discipline in your personal life. I think that a firm, but loving hand, you would learn…” 

Merlin looked longingly at the chocolate mousse, then back at the unnatural light in George’s eyes. 

He threw his napkin on the table and fled. 

*****

The emails between Gwen and Morgana continued to document Gwen and LB’s burgeoning romance. 

Merlin winced when he saw one from Morgana with the subject line “Did the earth move?” He really, really didn’t want to read about the details of Arthur and Gwen’s first coupling. 

But fortunately Gwen was a modest girl who had at least enough discretion not to include explicit sexual details in an email at work. Her answer was simply, “I’ll tell you at lunch. I think I’m in love!” 

But even as Merlin continued to read the sickeningly sweet details of the courtship, Arthur continued to act toward him in a way that was confusing. And exciting. 

Arthur called him up to his office with increasing frequency, often on the merest pretext of having a technical question. And he was actually _nice_ sometimes, asking Merlin about his mother and his plans for the holidays. 

And then there was the touching. 

Arthur was very handsy. He would drape his arm over Merlin’s shoulder if he ran into him in the break room, which seemed to happen a lot, considering that Arthur worked on the nineteenth floor and Merlin worked on the seventeenth, and each floor had its own break room. 

And Arthur was always standing close to him, and that got Merlin all stirred up, smelling Arthur’s cologne and feeling the warmth of his body. 

Merlin wondered again if Arthur just plain had trouble with the concept of personal space, but he watched Arthur with other people and didn’t see the same thing, the almost crowding that Arthur did with Merlin. 

And sometimes it seemed like Arthur was around more than expected. He seemed to have a sixth sense about where Merlin was going to be. It didn’t feel like stalking, exactly, because Merlin liked it, but it did feel like Arthur was pursuing him, maybe even hunting him. 

Usual office hours were from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., but Merlin usually stayed until six, because he and had a lot of work to do and was trying to make a good impression. Arthur’s long hours were legendary, and the office scuttlebutt was that he rarely left before nine. 

But somehow Arthur seemed to know when Merlin was leaving, and every time Merlin got on the elevator to go home, Arthur was already on it. 

Arthur wasn’t on his way home, but going down to the lobby to run some errand or other, like picking up a newspaper or a bottle of water. 

But Merlin was well aware that Arthur had a mini-fridge full of water and other beverages. Arthur frequently got him one while they were talking. And he knew that three newspapers were delivered to Arthur’s office first thing every morning. 

It didn’t make any sense. They’d ride down together, and then Arthur would brush shoulders with him on the way out of the elevator, say goodnight, and head off in the opposite direction from Merlin. 

Every day, Merlin’s crush on Arthur got a little bigger, until he had to admit that he was more than a little in love with him. 

And Merlin might almost have thought Arthur was interested in him, too, if it wasn’t for the enraptured emails Gwen continued to send to Morgana. The emails made it clear that Gwen and LB, or rather, Gwen and Arthur, as Merlin frequently had to remind himself, were moving along fast in their relationship. 

*****

TO: morpendragon@pendragonprivatebanking.com 

FROM: gwenleo@pendragonprivatebanking.com 

SUBJECT: What should I pack 

For a weekend in Paris? 

I’m so excited I am jumping up and down! LB just asked me out of the blue! 

And we’re staying at [ this place.](http://www.pavillon-de-la-reine.com/uk/hotel-luxe-paris-marais-site-officiel.php.) It looks like the most romantic place in the world! 

TO: morpendragon@pendragonprivatebanking.com 

FROM: gwenleo@pendragonprivatebanking.com 

SUBJECT: we need to hit Victoria’s Secret 

Because you definitely need new lingerie for this trip. Probably that’s all you need to bring. 

Oh, and make sure you get a manicure, because you may be coming back with a new ring! 

*****

Merlin read through this exchange several times to really absorb it. He was happy for Gwen, he really was. But why was the man who apparently was on the point of getting engaged to Gwen still showing so much interest in Merlin? It seemed like every time he turned around, he felt Arthur’s gaze on him, heavy with intent. 

He could only conclude that Arthur was as big of a jerk as he had first thought him. 

*****

Bad Date Interlude 2.0 

After a couple of days of wallowing, Merlin let Tristan and Isolde talk him into another date. Well, actually, Isolde did most of the talking. After the George debacle Merlin thought Tristan probably wanted out of the matchmaking business. 

Isolde apologized. “Okay, maybe George was a bit too intense for you, and we are so sorry for that! Aren’t we, Tristan?” 

Tristan grunted. 

“But give this guy a chance, please, Merlin, please. He’s quite a catch.” 

*****

As he looked across the table at his date, Merlin decided that the problem between him and Isolde was one of communication. They didn’t even seem to be speaking the same language. 

Because when they used the words “quite a catch,” they clearly meant something other than the words that came to Merlin’s mind when he met his date. 

Those words were “fifty if he’s a day” and “trying too hard.” 

Agravaine had offered to pick Merlin up at his apartment, but Merlin had a policy of not giving out his address before a first date. It was safer that way. So he had arranged to meet Agravaine at the restaurant the other man had selected. 

Agravaine was tall and had a handsome face, although both his face and body were going a bit soft in middle age, but Merlin thought he looked pretty good considering that he was as old as Uther Pendragon. He greeted Merlin with great cordiality, taking Merlin’s offered hand in both of his and squeezing it warmly. 

The restaurant was nice, too, if maybe a bit stiffer and more formal than Merlin really liked. The prices seemed on the high side, too. And there wasn’t all that much for a vegetarian to eat, the menu was old-school, focusing on steaks and chops. 

But Merlin was determined to make the best of it, so he ordered a pasta dish and tried to laugh at Agravaine’s stories. 

Agravaine was quite charming, and Merlin wanted to like him, but there was just something off about him. Even his faded good looks seemed a bit oily somehow, and the bags under his eyes suggested too much rich food and perhaps too much alcohol. But then Merlin would chide himself, thinking that he was being too hard on a guy who was obviously trying to please him. 

It took until halfway through the meal, but Merlin finally figured out what was wrong. 

Agravaine just radiated insincerity. No, he _oozed_ it. His shit-eating grin and his sleazy charm couldn’t disguise the fact that you couldn’t believe any of the silky words that flowed out of his mouth. 

You’d have to be an idiot to trust Agravaine any further than you could throw him. 

And Merlin wasn’t an idiot. 

He managed to sit through the whole dinner, but at the end, after Agravaine paid for dinner over Merlin’s protests, Agravaine suggested that they go back to his place. Merlin resisted, knowing that Agravaine would expect Merlin to put out in exchange for the lackluster meal. 

“I’m so sorry, Agravaine, you’re great, really, and dinner was great, everything was great…” Merlin heard himself babbling and tried to stop the desperate flow of words. He hated turning anyone down, no matter how manipulative and sleazy they seemed. He concluded, lamely, “I can feel a migraine coming on, it must have been the blue cheese in the salad, that’s sometimes a trigger for me. I’m so sorry, but if I don’t get home right away and take my medication I’ll be laid up for three days.” 

He saw a tiny flash of anger in the other man’s eyes, and the practiced smile faded. For an instant Merlin saw the man Agravaine was when he dropped the mask, and a cold and hard expression was on his face for a few seconds. 

Merlin recoiled, and Agravaine realized his mistake. He became the smooth talker again, saying with great solicitude, “How very unfortunate. Perhaps in the future you should carry the medication with you, so our dates won’t be interrupted?” 

Merlin agreed, fended off a goodnight kiss, and left with Agravaine’s “I’ll call you,” ringing in his ears. 

He slumped in the back seat of his cab ride home and buried his face in his hands. _Really, Emrys, really? A fucking migraine? How much of a girl can you possibly be? You might as well have told him that you were getting your period._

He smiled when he thought of what Arthur’s reaction to his excuse would be, but the smile faded when he realized that he wouldn’t be telling Arthur about the hideous date. 

He’d made up his mind that he was going to keep things strictly on a professional level from now on. 

Besides, it sounded like Arthur would be too busy planning his wedding to spend much time with Merlin. 

*****

The Monday after Gwen’s whirlwind trip to Paris, Merlin went to the office with a heavy heart. 

Over the few months he’d been working for Pendragon Private Banking, he’d come to really enjoy his job. Monitoring emails took less of his time as his superiors recognized his skills and let him work on projects he enjoyed more. He’d even been given some responsibility for Y2K planning. 

And he’d made friends there, too. He’d grown very fond of Gwen, and she was always dropping off homemade baked goods at his desk, telling him she had made too much and that he was doing her a favor by getting it out of her house. Merlin suspected that she was baking just for him, because she always worried that he was too skinny. 

He’d also become very friendly with one of the other guys in the IT Department, gentle, serious Leon. They both liked the same kinds of video games, and had hung out several times. And Percival from Security had become a good friend, often walking Merlin out to his car when he worked late. He'd also met a new guy who worked on the creative side, Lance, who was not only handsome and smart, but so warm and empathetic that everyone loved him on sight. 

Even Morgana, who was very scary indeed, seemed to like Merlin. 

But if he was honest with himself, the biggest reason he was enjoying his job more was the daily contact with Arthur. In spite of everything, Arthur made him happy. 

And he knew that his happiness was based on a delusion. 

Gwen looked radiant when she stopped by his cubicle to show him her diamond ring. Even though his heart was breaking, he smiled and gave her a hug and wished her well. It wasn’t her fault that Merlin was so bad at relationships that he couldn’t tell a straight man from a gay one. 

He resolved to spend as little time as possible with Arthur. There was no point in making himself miserable spending time with someone he wanted but couldn’t have. 

So the next time Arthur emailed him an almost certainly bogus request for technical help, Merlin straightened his spine and did what he needed to do to protect his sanity. 

*****

TO: m.emrys@pendragonprivatebanking.com 

FROM: Pendragon@pendragonprivatebanking.com 

SUBJECT: My “L” key is sticking 

TO: Pendragon@pendragonprivatebanking.com 

FROM: m.emrys@pendragonprivatebanking.com 

SUBJECT: My “L” key is sticking 

Mr. Pendragon, sorry you are having problems with your keyboard. 

Unfortunately, I am in meetings all day, and I understand it is important to you to have this problem taken care of as soon as possible. 

I am sending Gillie Fursley to assist you. He is a good computer tech and should be able to resolve the issue. 

*****

There was no response from Arthur, and Merlin didn’t know if he was relieved or sorry. 

*****

Merlin avoided Arthur for the rest of the week, even though he thought about him all the time. But he figured it was like pulling off a bandaid, best to do it quickly and get the pain over all at once. 

Arthur left him alone for two weeks, but Merlin should have known that wouldn't last forever. Arthur's incredible knack for knowing when Merlin was about to get on an elevator led to another encounter at the end of a workday. 

The elevator doors opened, and there was Arthur, gorgeous and ever and looking troubled. Arthur pushed the button to hold the doors open, and when Merlin hesitated, he said impatiently, “Get on, would you? I won't bite.” 

But Merlin stood rooted to the spot, flushing beet red, knowing that he couldn’t be in a small enclosed space with Arthur until he had gotten over his unrequited feelings. So he stammered out, “You go on, I forgot something at my desk. Bye!” and all but ran away from the still-open door. 

Arthur’s mocking voice chased him down the hallway. “Afraid to be in the elevator with me, _Mer_ -lin? Don’t run away-aay….” 

*****

Bad Date Interlude 3.0 

Merlin had resolved not to let Tristan and Isolde set him up again. He had told them that the first two dates were disasters, and they had been full of apologies. But clearly they had a very poor sense of what people were really like. 

But as Merlin learned on his next date, he wasn't exactly great at picking men, either. 

He ran into a guy at his local video store a few times, and they seemed to share similar tastes in movies. He was cute, and seemed decent. So when he asked Merlin out to dinner, Merlin said yes. He had to do something besides sit around every night mooning over Arthur. 

And besides, Thanksgiving was coming up, and there was nothing more dreary than being alone around the holidays. So he took a chance. 

*****

To say that the date didn’t go well would be a huge understatement. 

Once again he met his date at a restaurant. The place seemed cozier than the one Agravaine had chosen, and Merlin was starting to feel cautiously optimistic until he saw that Arthur Pendragon was sitting at another table. Merlin’s heart sank when he saw that Arthur was with Gwen, and Morgana and Lance. 

A double date, then. 

_Fuck my life,_ Merlin thought, suppressing a groan. 

He was happy that Morgana and Lance were seeing each other; they made a striking couple. But the last thing he needed was to be distracted by Arthur and his fiancé while he was on a date with a new guy. 

His hopes that Arthur might not notice him were dashed when Arthur saw him standing awkwardly by his chair, trying to decide whether to sit down or just leave and make up some excuse for bailing on his date. Merlin quickly took his seat, but not before he saw Arthur give him a small, unsmiling nod. The others were so wrapped up in their merriment over Arthur and Gwen’s engagement that they didn’t even notice Merlin, and fortunately his table was somewhat in the shadows. 

He had arrived before his date, Dagl, and the hostess had seated him facing toward the interior of the restaurant, with a perfect view of Arthur’s table a few yards away. He briefly considered moving so that his back was to the other table, but he thought it might seem rude, and he didn’t want Arthur to think Merlin was bothered by him being there. 

So he stayed where he was, sipping his water and pretending to check his email pager, and watched as the waiter brought a big bottle of champagne to the other table. Arthur seemed to be giving a short toast, no doubt to his lovely bride-to-be, and they all raised their glasses and looked nauseatingly happy, with Lance and Morgana giving Gwen a kiss on the cheek as Arthur looked on fondly. At least, he was pretty sure Lance gave her a kiss on the cheek. It almost looked like he was going for her mouth, but Gwen tilted her head and her hair fell forward, and it was hard to tell where the kiss landed. 

But Arthur was still smiling softly, and surely he wouldn’t be doing that if Lance was doing something he shouldn’t, and besides Lance was absolutely too noble to make a move on someone else’s fiancé. 

Merlin was checking the phone again for the time, somewhat irritated that Dagl was fifteen minutes late, when he saw Arthur staring at him, champagne glass still in his hand. Arthur held his gaze for a moment and then raised his glass in a little salute before turning back to his companions. 

Arthur had given him a tiny smile, and Merlin tried to persuade himself that it was sardonic. But honestly, it had mostly looked wistful. 

_Okay, enough of that, Emrys,_ he scolded himself. _Maybe Arthur is bi-curious, and hoped to have his cake and eat it too._ It was a rotten thing to do to Gwen, and Merlin wanted nothing to do with it. He tried to push Arthur out of his mind and concentrate on his own date. 

Dagl finally appeared, but to Merlin’s surprise he wasn’t alone. He had brought a friend, Ebor, and they both took seats at the table as if it was the most natural thing in the world. 

The waiter rushed to bring another place setting, and Merlin tried to make the best of a bad situation. He resolved not to look in Arthur’s direction again, and he was able to stick to it. 

Mostly. 

Dagl seemed like a different person than the man Merlin had agreed to go out with, not nearly as nice. Merlin had no idea why he had decided to bring a friend along, but it was very odd. 

At first Dagl and Ebor seemed okay, trying to chat him up although they clearly were thick as thieves and were far more interested in each other than in Dagl’s supposed date. 

But as the meal progressed, and after each of them had a couple of glasses of wine, something shifted. It seemed like Dagl and Ebor exchanged some sort of unspoken signal, and they started talking to Merlin in an somewhat derisive way. It almost seemed like they were trying to give him orders, telling him to finish his dinner “so we can go someplace more fun.” 

Then they started teasing him about how young and pretty he looked, and it didn’t feel flirtatious. It felt like bullying. 

They kept refilling his wine glass, too, and it almost seemed like they were trying to get him drunk. 

When Ebor leaned over and whispered something in Dagl’s ear, and both of them looked at Merlin with smirks on their faces, Merlin decided he had had enough. 

He got to his feet, saying in a quiet but angry tone, “I don’t know what is going on with you two, but you’re acting like jerks. I'm out of here.” 

He turned to leave, but Dagl grabbed his wrist, saying, “Sit down, you’re making a scene.” 

Merlin didn’t want to make a scene, but he also didn’t want to wake up having been beaten or worse. He could see that a few people were looking at them, and he hoped he wouldn’t have to start yelling or throw a punch, but he would do what he needed to do to get out of there. 

He pulled his arm away, and rapidly headed for the entrance to the restaurant. 

But Ebor got up and followed him, and draped his arm over Merlin’s shoulders so it looked like a friendly one-armed hug. In fact, his arm was like a vise, and he was hustling Merlin toward the door. “Hey, calm down, everything’s fine.” He looked back over his shoulder and saw Dagl throwing some money on the table and catching up to them, and coming up on Merlin’s other side so the two of them were pushing him toward the street. Dagl was saying loudly to the room in general, “Sorry, he had too much to drink, we’d better get him home.” 

Merlin was fighting panic. The situation was getting ugly fast. He didn’t really think he would be abducted from a busy restaurant, but he knew he couldn’t leave with these two thugs. 

He reached into his pocket for his house keys, lacing them between his fingers for makeshift brass knuckles. He was trying to decide which man he should try to hit when it became a moot point. The grip on his shoulder was suddenly gone, and he was standing alone as the man on either side of him was jerked back. He whirled around, and saw that Lance was holding on to an outraged Ebor, and Arthur had Dagl slammed into the wall with his forearm pressed against the other man’s throat, and Dagl was making some sputtering noises which stopped when Arthur leaned in a bit harder. 

Arthur’s face was the picture of controlled rage, and Lance looked pretty angry, too. The restaurant manager was wringing his hands and saying, “Do I need to call the police?” 

Arthur let go of Dagl, brushing his fingertips contemptuously down the front of the other man’s coat as if to wipe off the feel of the other man’s body. He ignored the manager and turned to Merlin, saying tightly, “Are you all right?” 

Merlin was afraid his voice would betray his emotions, so he just nodded, and Arthur answered the manager. “No, you don’t need to call the police. These two were just leaving. And they won’t be back.” 

He gave Dagl a threatening stare, and then turned to Ebor with the same expression. “You won’t be back, right?” Both men nodded vigorously, looking a bit like marionettes. Arthur added, "I have a lot of ears in this city, and if I hear of the two of you ganging up on some other kid I'll make you very sorry." 

Dagl and Ebor left in a hurry, and Arthur turned to Merlin, looking very concerned. “You sure they didn’t hurt you? You don’t feel weird or anything?” 

Merlin found his voice, and said as calmly as he could, “No, I’m fine.” 

“Thank God,” Lance said, his voice full of relief. “We were afraid they’d slipped you a roofie or something.” 

“I think I’ll just go home now,” Merlin said. The adrenaline rush of the encounter was fading away, leaving him shaky and tired, and suddenly all he wanted to do was go home and curl up in bed and watch stupid cat videos. 

“I’ll drive you home,” Arthur said. 

“No, no, I can get a cab, that’s what I always do,” Merlin protested. “I don’t want to break up your evening. I can get one right here, it’s a busy street.” 

“You can’t get a cab, I don’t want you out there in the dark when those two cretins might still be lurking around.” Arthur was using what Merlin thought of as his “command voice”, the one that in happier times had sent a happy sizzle from the top of his spine straight to his dick. Unfortunately, he was too upset from his disastrous evening to feel the usual thrill, and he really did want to get home as soon as possible. 

By this time Morgana and Gwen had come out into the foyer, and were petting Merlin and making soothing noises, and Morgana chimed in with a tone that brooked no refusal. " _Of course_ Arthur will take you home. The three of us can go in Lance’s car; it’s no trouble at all.” 

Gwen and Lance added their support of the plan, and when Merlin looked around Arthur had already left to get the car. So he guessed that meant that Arthur was taking him home. 

*****

Arthur was a perfect gentleman, pulling right up in front of the restaurant and coming around to open the door for Merlin. Gwen and Morgana gave him one last hug and made him promise to call each of them in the morning, and Lance walked him to where Arthur was waiting, giving him one last firm pat on the back and saying, “Call me if you need anything.” 

Merlin leaned back in the luxurious seats of Arthur’s BMW, exhaling heavily to release some of the stress of the last hour. 

After he got Merlin’s address, Arthur didn’t talk much, but it seemed to Merlin that he was gripping the steering wheel very tightly. 

When they got to Merlin’s building, Arthur made to turn off the car, but Merlin quickly unbuckled his seat belt and scrambled out, saying, “Look, I’m fine, it’s just a few steps.” Arthur still looked unhappy, so Merlin said, “Look, you can stay and watch me get inside, okay?” 

Merlin sounded wound up even to his own ears, and Arthur must have noticed and not wanted to add to his distress, because he just said, “Whatever you want, Merlin. I’ll wait until you’re inside.” 

Merlin realized belatedly that he must have sounded ungracious, because he leaned back in the car and said, “Thanks, Arthur, really. You were great, helping me out back there and giving me a ride home. It was just really good of you, to interrupt your own engagement party like that.” 

Merlin had a brief glimpse of Arthur’s face forming into an expression of sheer astonishment, and just as he slammed the car door he heard Arthur saying, “Merlin, wait…” 

But Merlin was done for the day, and Arthur needed to get back to Gwen, so he just kept walking. 

He turned to give Arthur a wave after he had the outer door unlocked, and wondered briefly why Arthur still looked as if he’d been pole-axed. Then he climbed the stairs to his third floor apartment and wasted no time carrying out his plan for a night in bed with his laptop and some mind-numbing videos. 

*****

Merlin slept for eleven hours, and when he woke up the next morning he indulged himself with a nice long wank, fantasizing about what it would feel like to straddle Arthur’s lovely, luscious butt and rub himself off on it. 

He had just gotten out of the shower when his doorbell rang. That was odd, since he rarely had company and he wasn’t expecting anyone, but he thought it might be important so he peered through the peephole. 

It was Arthur. 

Tying his towel more firmly around his waist, he opened the door, and Arthur sauntered in like he owned the place. Merlin had only seen him him without a suit and tie once before, and he had to admit that Arthur looked awfully good in faded jeans and a button down shirt open over a t-shirt. Arthur had a white paper bag in his hand, and after taking off his coat he opened the bag and put two cups of coffee and a box of pastries on the coffee table. 

They were from Merlin’s favorite coffee shop. 

The coffee smelled heavenly, and in spite of his shock at finding Arthur in his living room he instinctively reached for one of the coffees and pried off the lid. It was double cream and no sugar, just the way Merlin liked it. He held it to his nose and inhaled the heavenly aroma, then set the coffee back down. 

Merlin had no idea why Arthur was there. He had that teasing gleam in his eyes again, and Merlin felt awkward wearing nothing but a thin towel while Arthur was fully dressed. 

Merlin needed the coffee, and the pastries looked divine, but he felt wrong-footed. He gestured awkwardly at himself to indicate his state of undress. “I don’t know why you’re here, Arthur, but I’m not going to argue with a man who brings coffee and beignets from Jeannie’s. I guess you want to talk, but maybe I should get dressed first?” 

Arthur looked Merlin up and down, from his damp tousled hair to the towel riding low under Merlin’s hips. Merlin realized belatedly that his navel and the top of the treasure trail to his groin were fully visible, and that Arthur's gaze was lingering appreciatively on that area. 

“I think you getting dressed would be a shame,” he murmured. 

Merlin flushed and started out, “Look, Arthur, you can’t just come over here and be all suggestive….” 

Arthur leaned forward and said, “Please, Merlin, just give me five minutes. Drink your coffee and hear me out, and after five minutes you can get dressed. If that's what you want.” 

The seductive tone in Arthur's voice made Merlin semi-hard instantly, so he quickly sat down and angled his chair away from Arthur’s. He picked up the coffee, took a deep drink, and moaned with pleasure at how delicious it was. When he opened his eyes, Arthur was looking at him like he was starving to death and Merlin was one of the beignets. 

“You had something to say to me?” Merlin asked, hoping he could keep Arthur talking long enough that he could stand up without embarrassing himself. He tried to will his erection down. _polishing silver, polishing silver, polishing silver…,there, that helped, polishing silver_

Arthur made a visible effort to pull himself together. “Well, I wanted to make sure you were okay after last night, and to tell you how glad I was that the restaurant that Morgana and I chose for Lance and Gwen’s celebration was the same one those creeps took you to. And I wanted to say that really, Merlin, you need to be more careful who you go out with…” 

Merlin’s brain finally caught up with the words he was hearing, and he interrupted Arthur. “Wait. What? What are Gwen and Lance celebrating?” 

Arthur raised an eyebrow, and gave Merlin one of his patented “you really are an idiot” looks. 

“Their engagement, of course. “ 

Merlin still looked stunned, so Arthur explained it slowly and carefully, like he would to a child. “Gwen and Lance are getting married. Next summer. To each other.” 

“But you and Gwen are getting married!” 

“Not to my knowledge.” 

Merlin forgot he was only wearing a towel as he stood and said, “Excuse me.” 

*****

He walked into his bedroom and sat down on his bed to call Morgana, who answered on the first ring. 

“Merlin, sweetheart, how are you feeling today?” 

“Never mind that,” Merlin said impatiently. “Morgana, I need to ask you something, and you have to tell me the truth. Who is Gwen going to marry?” 

Morgana laughed. “She’s marrying Lance, of course. She’s been head over heels for him since the moment she saw him.” 

“You’re absolutely sure she isn’t marrying Arthur?” 

“What are you going on about? I’m positive. Arthur is gay. He came out when he was sixteen.” 

Merlin was still in “does not compute” mode. 

“But your emails! LB! Gwen is in love with LB, Luscious Butt!” 

“You read my emails?” Morgana sounded amused rather than indignant. 

“Of course I read your emails!” Merlin exploded. “I read _everyone’s_ emails! It’s part of my job! Didn’t you read your employee manual where it said that all emails sent on the company server were subject to review?” 

“I read it; I just didn’t think it applied to me. And to answer your question, LB stands for Lance Baby, because the first time Gwen and I met him we both said, “Oh, Baby.” 

“But what about Luscious Butt?” 

“Oh, that one didn’t take.” 

Merlin groaned for the second time that morning, but this time not with pleasure. “I hesitate to ask, but does Arthur have a nickname now?” 

He could hear her smile through the phone line. “We call him CFM.” 

“And that means?” 

“Crazy for Merlin.” 

*****

When Merlin hung up, Arthur was standing in his bedroom doorway, leaning against the frame and watching him intently. Merlin stood up, not sure what he was going to do, but he froze when he saw Arthur moving toward him with cat-like grace. 

When Arthur was a few inches away from him, he said, “Honestly, Merlin, you can’t even dry yourself off right! Your back is still wet.” And with that, Arthur deftly undid Merlin’s towel and cupped Merlin’s ass with one hand and rubbed at his back with the towel with the other. 

It was all of Merlin’s fantasies come true. Arthur was _right there_ , smiling into his eyes as his hands were busy on Merlin’s rear end. Arthur said huskily, “I think there may be some more areas that need drying,” and he rubbed the nubbly towel against Merlin’s balls, using just the right amount of pressure. 

Merlin’s dick had been half-hard since Arthur entered the room, but the careful attention Arthur was giving to his balls brought him to full hardness immediately. He involuntarily widened his legs, and Arthur dragged the towel lower, reaching back to caress Merlin’s perineum and his hole. 

The texture of the towel rubbed against his most sensitive areas was definitely working for Merlin, but he also desperately wanted the feel of Arthur’s bare hands. 

“Stop teasing me,” he said, and if there was a bit of a whine in his voice Arthur was kind enough not to mention it. 

“Why should I?” Arthur said, grinning. “You’ve been teasing me since the moment I met you.” 

Merlin shivered at the feeling of Arthur rolling his balls through the fabric, and Arthur abruptly threw the towel to the side and pushed Merlin down so that he was seated at the edge of the bed. “You look cold,” Arthur said softly, and he took off his shirt and draped it over Merlin’s shoulders. 

And then, as Merlin watched in fascinated disbelief, Arthur sank to his knees and pushed Merlin’s legs apart, then took hold of Merlin’s cock and began sucking at it. 

Merlin was grateful that he had already had one orgasm that morning, because even considering that he was in danger of coming way too soon. 

Arthur was good at the cock-sucking thing, _really_ good, varying his technique in a very satisfying way. At one point he put a couple of his own fingers in his mouth, caressing Merlin’s prick even as he continued to suck, and then he slipped the wet tip of his index finger just inside Merlin’s hole. 

Merlin wasn’t sure what the etiquette for a first time blow-job was, but he really wanted to touch Arthur’s hair, so he slid his fingers back from Arthur’s ears to hold his head firmly. 

Arthur must have liked it, because he redoubled his efforts, and when Merlin started making “nrggh” noises and panting “I’m close” and trying to shove Arthur back before he came, Arthur just wrapped his hands around the back of Merlin’s knees and worked him until Merlin came down his throat. 

Merlin slumped over, still keeping his hands in Arthur’s soft silky hair, and Arthur nuzzled at the inside of Merlin’s thigh for a few minutes. But then Merlin came to himself enough to realize that Arthur’s cock probably needed some attention too. He rolled onto his back and pulled the covers over his legs, saying, “Hey, take your clothes off and get in bed.” 

Arthur got to his feet, and the large bulge in his jeans was pretty obvious. He flicked his finger down Merlin’s cheek and grated out, “Can’t wait.” He crouched over Merlin, one knee on the bed and the other foot on the floor, and unzipped his jeans, carefully extracting his purplish cock. He stared into Merlin's eyes as he jerked himself off roughly. 

It only took a few strokes and it was clear that Arthur was about to come. He aimed at Merlin’s upper chest and throat, and painted them white with his semen. 

It was about the hottest thing Merlin had ever seen, and he looked down at himself not quite believing what had happened. But then Arthur was wiping him off with his shirt, leaving only a little bit of the sticky fluid, which he ran his finger through. 

And then he pressed the finger to Merlin’s lips, and Merlin let it slip in, and suddenly his mouth and Arthur’s were locked together and Arthur’s warm weight was on top of him and he knew that he never wanted to let this man go. 

Arthur eventually brought Merlin the coffee and beignets and watched him eat them in bed. And when Merlin got powdered sugar on his chest, Arthur licked it off. 

It was the best day of Merlin’s life. 

*****

It was wonderful having Arthur as a boyfriend during the Christmas season. 

Arthur told Merlin that he felt bad about all the time they had wasted, and about the monumental misunderstanding that had caused both of them pain. So he set about to woo Merlin in very sweet and public ways, even though Merlin pointed out to him that their union had already been consummated and there was no need to make such a fuss. 

“There’s every need,” Arthur told him. “Besides, I like doing things for you.” 

“You also like staking your claim,” Merlin retorted, thinking of the two dozen red roses that had been on his desk the Monday morning after Thanksgiving. He’d been extremely popular that morning, with all of the women and about half of the men coming by to admire the flowers and try to tease the name of the sender out of him. 

Arthur took Merlin to dinner a couple of times a week, and the places weren’t always fancy but always cozy and fun. He had tickets to The Messiah, which Merlin had never heard in person, and spent more time smiling at Merlin's reaction to the music than he did watching the performers. 

In mid-December Arthur told his father that he and Merlin were a couple, and accepted Merlin’s invitation to have Christmas dinner with Merlin’s mother in the small town she lived in. 

Arthur showed Merlin that he was loved, in many ways. 

Merlin’s personal favorite was the time Arthur wove multi-colored Christmas lights through the metal bars of Merlin’s headboard, making the bedroom look like a magical realm. 

After Merlin was done ooh-ing and ahh- ing, Arthur tied him to the headboard with his red silk tie, and fucked him until he screamed. 

Now _that_ was a Christmas Eve to remember.

*****

As Merlin suspected, Arthur knew a lot more about computers than he had led Merlin to believe. He was actually quite clever with them, and he and Merlin brainstormed about how to make the employees more computer-literate and the IT Department more efficient. 

Arthur even intervened with Uther to revise the employee email policy, convincing Uther that it wasn’t necessary to require that someone in IT read every word of every email. 

The new policy still gave the company the right to monitor emails, but the IT department was told that emails should be read only when there were complaints of abuse or a clear pattern of personal emails taking up a large portion of the work day. 

Merlin was happier once he didn’t have to spend hours each day trudging through verbiage, and he was able to work on things that interested him more, like contingency plans for Y2K. 

By the time New Year’s Eve rolled around, Merlin was fairly certain that nothing bad was going to happen to his beloved machines. But he still volunteered to be on site that night, just in case. 

At 11:50 p.m. on the dot, there was a knock on his office door. Merlin jumped, since he thought he and a couple of security guards were the only people in the building. 

It was Arthur, dressed in a spiffy tuxedo and carrying a chilled bottle of champagne and two glasses. 

He looked so handsome Merlin’s heart leapt, and Merlin crossed the room in a couple of strides to catch his gorgeous partner in his arms and kiss him. 

Arthur popped the cork on the bottle while Merlin watched the countdown on his monitor, and at the stroke of midnight, when the virtual world didn’t end, they clinked their glasses together. 

“To the Year 2000,” Merlin toasted. 

Arthur kissed him again before answering, “To us.”


End file.
